JOHANNESBURG: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says Sabah-based parties that continuously push for only local parties to form the next state government are missing the forest for the trees.
Anwar, who is also Pakatan Harapan Chairman, said when it comes to administering the State, it is a matter of governance, regardless of who is at the helm.
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He said in the past, weak governance led to Sabah being plagued by various issues, linked to its natural resources like timber and land, as well as water woes.
“Irrespective of whether it is led by a peninsula-based or Sabah-based party, for me it is a non-issue as long as the party can serve the people,” he told Malaysian reporters covering his visit to South Africa.
In the run-up to the 17th Sabah state election on Nov 29, there have been calls for the incoming government to be led entirely by local parties.
The sentiment had led to the Sabah Progressive Party and Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku quitting Gabungan Rakyat Sabah after the coalition agreed to go ahead with its decision to partner with PH for the polls.
Opposition party Warisan also vowed that it would not work with coalitions based in Peninsular Malaysia to form the state government.
Anwar said the 17th Sabah State Election offers the Federal Government a chance to highlight key issues and its past, ongoing and future initiatives in the State.
The Prime Minister said the election is also a platform for the people of Sabah to make an informed assessment of the various initiatives undertaken by the Madani Government in the state.
“It has been three years (since the Madani Government came into power). For Sabah, I have done my best. On electricity, when (the Sabah Government) requested that we hand back (regulatory control of electricity supply), we complied. Whenever funds were insufficient, we provided them, and we carried out other efforts beyond the Federal Government’s scope.
“This includes the water supply problem at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS). For the water issue at UMS, I provided RM3 million,” he said.
In 2023, the Federal Government approved RM3 million for UMS to help resolve the university’s water supply problem.
The Prime Minister, when presenting the Budget 2024 on October 13, 2023, also said the Federal Government and the Sabah Government had reached an agreement on the transfer of electricity supply regulatory powers, effective January 3, 2024.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said he had reviewed the Sabah Pan-Borneo project and emphasised that its implementation is expected to become more efficient under an open and transparent tender approach.
“I told Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor (Sabah Chief Minister) that only companies capable of executing the project should be awarded the contract. We have already lost two to three years. The Sarawak section (of Pan-Borneo) is nearly complete,” he said.
